


false rumors (true love)

by datgayrainboww



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, mentioned iwaoi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 15:43:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13616496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/datgayrainboww/pseuds/datgayrainboww
Summary: It’s their third year of high school and Kindaichi has become known as the volleyball team’s captain and ace. He’s grown into his looks, catching the eyes of many students, which has led to several awkward confessions. Finally, after witnessing Kindaichi suffer through far too many of them, Kunimi decides to help him out... by declaring that the two of them are dating. Together they have to deal with the aftermath.





	false rumors (true love)

**Author's Note:**

> I promised myself I would write more fics this year, so hopefully this is the first of many. I’ve never written Kindaichi or Kunimi before, so they might be a bit ooc, but either way, I hope you like it!

Kunimi sighed as they exited the locker room after practice one Friday to find a girl pacing just outside the gym doors. “I guess I’ll wait here,” He said, watching as Kindaichi’s face flooded with color once he realized what was happening. You think he would be used to it by now, as the number of confessions he received had only increased since second year, when he first began to gain more muscle mass and grow into his lanky build. But instead he continued to blush the moment a girl approached him From what Kunimi had heard, the girls considered it adorable, a trait that made Kindaichi seem even more appealing to them. Personally Kunimi agreed; Kindaichi was adorable whenever he blushed. But at the same time, Kunimi wished that he could be the one making Kindaichi look so flustered. These countless girls didn’t deserve such a power, especially since none of them had ever shown interest in Kindaichi before he had begun to fill out. Still, Kunimi figured he couldn’t judge, unlike him they weren’t cowards. They had shown time and time again that they were able to muster up their courage and confess.

Sighing again, Kunimi watched as Kindaichi approached the girl, pretending to be surprised by her presence. He was just out of hearing range, but Kunimi had witnessed enough of these to know how the conversation would go. The girl would introduce herself, then confess her feelings, talking about how amazing Kindaichi is and maybe even offering him a gift. Then, if she was exceptionally brave, she would even try to ask him on a date. The entire time Kindaichi would listen and be polite, but when it came down to it, the girl would eventually be rejected. For reasons unknown, (Kindaichi’s answers changed every time), every single girl who had ever confessed to him had been gently rejected. The same went for the few guys that had decided to take a chance and confess as well. As for how the confessor reacted to the rejection, well that varied. The majority would accept it and walk away dejected. Others would cry, making Kindaichi try, and often fail, to awkwardly comfort them. And of course, a rare few liked to get angry. Those were the annoying ones and unfortunately that’s what Kindaichi seemed to be dealing with today.

Kunimi watched the girl’s body language grow increasingly agitated until finally, he felt as if he to intervene. And intervene, he did, in perhaps the stupidest way possible.

“Volleyball practice is exhausting,” He said, yawning as he walked up to Kindaichi and wrapped an arm around him, leaning up against him as if he needed support. “I can’t wait to go home.”

“Kunimi?” Kindaichi asked and Kunimi hummed as he looked up at him with sleepy eyes. Pretending to be exhausted wasn’t hard when you tired practically every day of your life.

“Excuse me,” The girl said, voice shrill with anger. “I was talking to Kindaichi-kun.”

“More like you were yelling at him,” Kunimi muttered and the girl glared. But that was alright, Kunimi didn’t care if this girl hated him.

“I was only upset because he rejected me,” She complained and Kunimi arched an eyebrow, continuing to maintain eye contact. He could feel Kindaichi’s muscles tensing up beneath his hand, a reminder of just how strong his best friend was, and resisted the urge to soothe them with his thumb.

“Has it ever occurred to you that there’s a reason for him rejecting you? That perhaps he’s already dating someone else?”

The girl flushed, although if it was because of anger or embarrassment Kunimi couldn’t be sure. “What are you talking about?!” She raged. “He’s rejected every confession so far! His admirers would know if he’s dating someone!”

Kunimi smirked, this girl thought that she was so smart. “Are you sure about that?” He asked. “Maybe they decided to keep it a secret.”

“Really? Then, why would you know?”

Kunimi hummed. “I don’t know. Maybe because we’re best friends. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because I’m the one he’s dating.”

Kunimi didn’t know that it was possible for a human to turn so red. “You’re lying!” She shouted. “Kindaichi-kun would never date someone like you.”

“I’m telling the truth,” Kunimi said, sliding his hand down to wrap around Kindaichi’s waist. “Right babe?”

Kindaichi squeaked, his face burning just as red as the girl’s. “Um, yeah,” He mumbled, refusing to meet the girl’s eyes. “It’s true.”

The girl stared at them, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “If you’re lying to me, I’ll find out,” She warned, and Kunimi smirked.

“Then it’s a good thing we’re not lying,” He said, raising his chin defiantly. That made the girl stare at them for a few moments longer, before she harrumphed and with a toss of her head, strode off into the distance. Kunimi watched her go, making sure she wouldn’t suddenly return, until finally he felt comfortable enough to let go of and step away from Kindaichi.

“Sorry about that,” He apologized, carefully watching Kindaichi’s reactions. “It looked like she was bothering you.”

Kindaichi blinked, his blush slowly fading. “It’s fine,” He muttered, eyes focused somewhere just past Kunimi’s head. “Just unexpected.”

Kunimi snorted. “That’s one way to put it. Now come on,” He said, deciding to drop the topic as quickly as possible and spare the both of them too much embarrassment. “I wasn’t kidding about volleyball practice being exhausting.”

Kindaichi sighed. “You find everything exhausting,” He pointed out, but that didn’t keep him from smiling as he gathered up his bags and began the short walk home.

———

Kunimi didn’t know what he expected when he returned to school two days later. However, it certainly wasn’t this. The volleyball team, particularly first years, kept sparing him odd glances all throughout morning practice, and then, to make matters worse, those glances turned into blatant stares every time he so much as approached Kindaichi. It was annoying and by the time practice was over, Kunimi wanted nothing more than to go home and take a nap until this whole thing was forgotten.

Unfortunately, he had to go to class.

However, before that could happen, he and Kindaichi had to talk. Like always, they were the last ones in the locker room, although Kunimi still waited a few minutes to be sure everyone was gone before daring to speak. 

“It seems our lie caught on quickly,” He said, sitting down on the bench to change his shoes.

“You’re telling me. Itou came up to me earlier to thank me for being open about my sexuality. Apparently he had been questioning his open and was scared to come out, but having me as a role model made him much more comfortable.”

Kunimi hummed, watching Kindaichi change out of the corner of his eye. “Is Itou the one from that small middle school?” He asked and Kindaichi nodded.

“Yeah, from what he said it was a lot more conservative there.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Kunimi said thoughtfully. In some ways he supposed they had been pretty lucky, having never really met someone that was blatantly homophobic. Not only that, but back when they were first years, none of the starting members had been strictly heterosexual. So yeah, Kunimi would definitely count themselves lucky.

“Yup,” Kindaichi agreed, walking over to a mirror to fix his tie. “I just feel kinda bad that the only reason he’s know I’m gay is because of a stupid lie. Not that I blaming you or anything, it’s just… ugh, you know what I mean.”

“I think so. Although I really am sorry that this turned into a big mess. I was just… ” “…Jealous.” He wanted to say, but he couldn’t, that would ruin everything. 

“... Frustrated,” He chose to say instead and Kindaichi looked at him weirdly, before shrugging and letting the topic drop.

“It’s okay. Now come on, if we stay in here too long, they’ll start to get suspicious,” Kindaichi pointed out and Kunimi nodded, starting towards the locker room door. Only to abruptly stop less than a foot away from it.

“What are you doing?” He asked, staring down at their conjoined hands.

“I, um, I thought that if we were gonna take this fake dating thing seriously, we should at least try and make it realistic. But of course, if it makes you uncomfortable, I could always let go,” Kindaichi said, his face reddening with every word. It made Kunimi hesitate for a moment, staring at him,until eventually he nodded, shifting his hand so that their fingers could be interlaced together.

“It’s fine,” He said with a small clear of his throat, desperately trying to act nonchalant. “Just unexpected.”

“Great!” Kindaichi exclaimed, tightening his grip slightly before they exited the sanctuary of the locker room. And as they walked, to brave the dangerous halls of highschool, Kunimi could only pray that Kindaichi wouldn’t notice his maddeningly quick butterfly of a pulse.

———

After that, things were surprisingly easy. Sure some people stared and a few girls dared to come up and ask Kunimi questions, but all and all it wasn’t too bad. Which might be why Kunimi was completely unprepared for Oikawa’s call. It happened only minutes after practice, so close that if they had taken even a little bit longer cleaning, Kunimi would have missed it. And part of Kunimi wished that had happened, however, a larger part of him knew that purposely ignoring Oikawa would only make it worse. He knew that Oikawa wouldn’t stop calling until he got an answer.

So naturally, he gathered up his bag and went to stand outside the gym doors before he even dared to pick up the phone. “Is there a reason you’re calling me?” He asked, voice deadpan from a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion.

“You’re so rude, Kunimi-chan!” Oikawa exclaimed. “Am I not allowed to call and check up on my favorite kouhai?”

“Everyone knows Yahaba was your favorite. And even if he wasn’t, it’s obviously suspicious for you to call me the day after I said I was dating Kindaichi.”

“Does that mean the rumor is true?” Oikawa asked, sounding disgustingly intrigued. “Did you finally ask out your middle school crush?”

Kunimi scowled at midair, turning to walk away from the gym doors before he scared the crap out of some first year. “I regret ever telling you about that,” He spat out, making Oikawa’s laugh echo through the phone. “However, as disappointing as it is, the rumor is false.”

“Wait, really? But I thought you just said that you were dating Kindaichi?”

“Saying something doesn’t automatically make it true,” Kunimi said, quickly glancing around him to make sure he was alone before continuing the story. “I actually made it all up. These girls kept confessing to Kindaichi and in order to get them off his back, I said that we were dating. It clearly worked, but as much as I claim it was for Kindaichi’s sake, I know I just did it because I was…”

“Jealous?” Oikawa interrupted and Kunimi frowned.

“I was gonna go with selfish, but if you want to make it sound ugly, I suppose that works too.”

Oikawa cackled. “You can’t deny your feelings forever, Kunimi-chan~. But don’t worry, if I know one thing from rom-coms, it’s that fake dating AUs always work out.”

“I hate to break it to you Oikawa-san, but I don’t think rom-coms apply to real life.”

“Of course they do. How else do you think I ended up with Iwa-chan?”

“Luck, patience, and a whole lot of stupidity?” Kunimi teased, remembering the mess that was Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s relationship development. It had turned the court into a broiling mass of tension and personally Kunimi never wanted to experience that again. However, as much as it was painful for him to remember, he knew it was worse for Oikawa and he could just imagine his old captain pouting on the other side of the line.

“You know, Kunimi-chan, if you’re gonna be so mean, I’ll just take my advice elsewhere. I’m sure Tobio-chan would appreciate it.”

Kunimi laughed. “Even he’s not that dumb.”

“You’re too cruel Kunimi-chan. I think I need to call Iwa-chan to cheer me up.”

“You do that,” Kunimi smirked. “I can figure things out myself.”

“That’s what they all say,” Oikawa whined, getting in the last possible word before abruptly hanging up. Kunimi knew that his feelings weren’t too hurt, after all, Oikawa had always been a bit of a drama queen, but his words still echoed through his mind. That cheesy rom-com ending sounding so, so appealing and yet, despite all of Oikawa’s thinly veiled reassurances, Kunimi couldn’t help but feel that everything was about to crash and burn.

———

Despite Kunimi’s suspicions, it did not crash and burn immediately. In fact, they made it another week and a half before problems arose.

“Nakahara-san asked us why we never show any PDA,” Kindaichi started, fiddling with his water bottle cap as they walked home from school.

Kunimi frowned, he had always known that Nakahara was observant, but he had never considered him particularly nosy. “What did you tell him?” He asked, being careful to conceal the slight concern he was feeling. He had no idea how his classmates would react if their lie was revealed now.

“I told him that we were uncomfortable with it, especially since it’s against school rules.”

“And?” Kunimi prompted, as it surely wasn’t that simple.

“He didn’t believe me. Or at least, not completely. Instead, he suggested that we go on a double date.”

“A double date? With him and Satsuki? Surely, you told him no.”

“I tried to, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. We’re supposed to meet them at that new cafe Saturday afternoon.”

“But of course, if we do, they’ll expect us to show affection.” Kunimi said, slowly piecing everything together. Personally, he wouldn’t mind kissing Kindaichi, after all, he was absolutely enamored with the guy. However, he knew Kindaichi probably wouldn’t feel the same. Kindaichi had always been the type to only kiss those he was dating and Kunimi didn’t want to force him into anything he didn’t want.  
So he sighed, “If you want, we could break up.”

“Wouldn’t that be suspicious?” Kindaichi asked, furrowing his brow with worry.

Kunimi shrugged. “Maybe, but I don’t want to pressure you because of a stupid lie.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t be pressuring me,” Kindaichi said, stunning Kunimi into stopping. “Maybe I want to be affectionate with you.”

“You better not be lying to me.” Kunimi said. If Kindaichi was just saying that to protect their lie, he would never forgive him. He had no right to get his hopes up like that.

Kindaichi gulped, forcing himself to meet Kunimi’s eyes. “I promise I’m not,” He assured, voice strong and unwavering. “I’ve felt this way for awhile, but I was too scared to say anything. I thought you wouldn’t feel the same way, and since you always scowled when someone confessed to me, I figured that you thought confessions were weak. I know it was stupid of me, but I didn’t know what else to think. And then, Iwaizumi-san called to talk about the rumors, which I guess he heard from Oikawa. And, like, he mentioned something about how back in high school there were several times where he just wanted to grab Oikawa and say that they were dating, because he was jealous of and annoyed with all of Oikawa’s fangirls. And of course that made me start thinking about how our whole fake relationship started, until finally I realized that perhaps there was a chance that you actually liked me back and that maybe I should try and confess to you. I probably wouldn’t have necessarily done it today, but well, Nakahara-san kind of provided me with the perfect opportunity.”

Kunimi blinked, taking a moment to process everything. He had heard Kindaichi ramble before, but wow, this was on another level. “That was a really long and complicated confession,” He finally said and Kindaichi flushed.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be, I enjoyed hearing it. As for how I feel, I, um, I definitely like you back.” Kunimi said, avoiding Kindaichi’s eyes as he felt heat up.

“Really?” Kindaichi perked up, smiling brightly. “Does that mean we’re now dating for real?”

Kunimi nodded, cheeks slowly reddening even more as he stared just above Kindaichi’s head. “Yeah, assuming you want that, we’re now dating for real.”

“No more lying?” Kindaichi double checked and Kunimi smiled.

“No more lying. Although, we should wait a bit to tell any of our classmates the real story behind our relationship.”

Kindaichi accepted that with a nod. “I’m okay with it.” He said slowly, reaching out to gently intertwine their fingers. “Now come on, I rented that new movie you wanted to see.” 

And just like that, everything was back to normal. Well, almost normal. There were a few minor changes, such as their newfound love of cuddling while watching movies and the fact that it was slowly becoming second nature to show each other affection. Perhaps the biggest change was the kissing, which they did keep rather private, but felt no shame in demonstrating in front of Nakahara and Satsuki. After all, they had asked for it.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn’t know how awkward fake dating AUs were until I tried to write one. Anyways, if you liked this, feel free to comment and kudo below and if you want to know more about me, I have a tumblr over [@datgayrainbow](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/datgayrainbow). I mainly post haikyuu and bnha, with a few other fandoms mixed in, so if you like those kinds of things, you check it out! Regardless, thanks for reading!!


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